The Beauty Contest Murder
by Queen of Spiritual
Summary: At a pageant she was involved with, Daphne Blake tries to solve the murder of a victim that was part of the contest. Would Daphne be able to find out the name of the victim and who the murderer was?
1. Chapter 1

Rain was raining lightly as Daphne Blake drove away from the gas station. Her son, Sam and her daughter Michelle should be with the neighbors. Both son and daughter were a bit young to stay home alone. Sam was eleven and Michelle was seven. Daphne pulled into the two – car garage once the garage door opened automatically.

There was no need to drive the car to her neighbors' house since they were right next – door. After unbuckling the seatbelt, Daphne climbed out of the passenger's seat. She grabbed the keys out of the ignition before locking the car. She thought she'd leave the garage door open so she and the kids could walk through together.

Walking to her neighbors' house, which was a two – story house with a one – car garage, a gate, garden, kitchen, bathroom, living and dining room, you name it. To tell the truth, her neighbors weren't rich at all and neither was she. The house she walked to at this minute happened to be a house of a cop.

Daphne pushed her red hair away from her face. The hair was only shoulder length but it got wet because of the rain. While ringing the doorbell, Daphne felt her feet tapping on the 'welcome' mat. The deputy's wife came to answer the door. She was pretty for someone in her early fifties.

Daphne noticed the woman looked like she was in the middle of a bath because she saw the woman's red hair was wet and she had a royal blue towel over her waist. The woman looked like her hair was starting to turn gray.

"Hello, Daphne. Won't you come in?" she asked.

"Thank you, but maybe next time, Melanie. I came for Sam and Michelle."

Daphne watched as Melanie yelled to Michelle and Sam their mother was here. That's when she heard footsteps. The kids ran to greet Daphne.

Daphne said, "What do you say to Mrs. Brown?"

"Thank you," both said in unison.

"Thank you for what?" Daphne asked.

"Thank you for letting us stay," Michelle said.

"You're welcome."

Daphne and Melanie said a quick good – bye once Sam and Michelle walked out, backpacks in hand. Michelle's backpack had the Disney princess theme while Sam's was a sports theme. The three walked into the kitchen without a word. Sam and Michelle probably ate supper. She'd recently judged a beauty pageant here in Coolsville this afternoon.

The show she was at today was a big deal, but it was supposed to continue tomorrow. She'd enjoyed the outfits she hadn't liked. This was the kind of job title she had – beauty pageant judge. She'd often share pictures of the beautiful girls on facebook. She hadn't yet posted on facebook.

It was time Sam and Michelle get a start on their homework. All of his life, Sam had dreams of becoming a detective. He'd had fun watching crime shows on TV and read thrillers. He usually did figure out who the culprit was. He was now reading a new paperback of James Patterson's Alex Cross novel.

She then asked Michelle and Sam if they had done their homework yet.

"Yes, Mom. We did it while waiting for you," Sam told her.

"Oh."

She usually let Michelle and Sam eat supper at Melanie and Dennis's house if it got too late for her to come home to do the cooking.

While Sam and Michelle were under the covers that night, Daphne logged onto her facebook so she could share with the public the pictures she took while at these types of pageants. Daphne had been doing this kind of job for over nine years now and had loved this job since then.

She'd share five pictures from today's show. One picture was with a teenager who recently had a haircut, but it was nice since she had her hair layered. The teenaged girl had on light purple high heels, light tan socks, a pair of star earrings, a necklace, and a red polka dot dress.

Another picture she showed was a thirty – ish old college girl with two pairs of pierced ears along with a fur coat made of silk, curly blonde hair neatly washed and combed, a dress that looked to be more of a special occasion only type of dress. It was black and had a sapphire on one side and the other side had a pearl. The outfit looked a bit pricey but she thought it was lovely.

After finishing up on posting the fifth picture, she heard on the radio there had been a murder.

"We now interrupt this program. Sheriff Edwards had just stated there was a shooting in Coolvsille an hour or two ago. The body was part of a beauty contestant when there was a bullet shooting from the other side of the door.

"She happened to be in her thirties. Today she was wearing a two – pair sets of earrings, fur coat made of silk, curly blonde hair neatly washed and combed, a dress that looked to be more of a special occasion only type of dress. It was black and had a sapphire on one side and the other had a pearl and the outfit was a bit pricey. The name of the victim has not been released."

Daphne turned the radio off. She looked at the picture. Sheriff Edwards had just described. It was contestant number five. That's when she let out a scream!


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Daphne showed up to see if the contest was still going to be in progress while she judged the show this afternoon. The acting sheriff, her next – door neighbor, Deputy Mitchell was on the scene once she arrived.

"Good morning, Daphne," he greeted her.

"Good morning," she returned.

"I heard what happened about last night," she told Mitchell.

Sheriff Edwards had been out-of-town for a few days to go on a jury duty here in Las Vegas.

"The news is all over town, Lynda. Even made this morning's headlines," he told her as he shoved it quickly in her hands.

She saw the front page. So Mitchell was right and he wasn't joking, either. The headline read: CONTESTANT DEAD.' She always had hated this kind of thing when victims like the contestant who had entered this contest murdered.

One of the contestants in this year's pageant, was shot the previous night. She had recently entered this contest that was going to continue in the next few days. Daphne Blake, one of the judges, had been a judge to all the past years until today had been involved in the past murders that took place. The bullet that was aimed at the contestant was small. The police have no new information at this time. For now, the contestant's name is to remain unidentified.

The writer who wrote this short piece of what happened last night used the name Jessica Anderson. Jessica was well – known. Daphne wanted to help solve this mystery. Sam and Michelle had school today, so there was no reason to have them around this kind of violence. Not today, anyway.

She decided to ask Mitchell if today was still on.

"Is today's show still going to continue?" she asked.

"I'm afraid not, Daphne. It will have to wait until this is solved," he said, pushing his long bangs out of his face.

His hair was a light – red color. The sign of him needing a haircut was bangs in your face.

"Do we know anything about the person who shot her?" Daphne asked.

"Nothing yet. It's a bit too early to figure this one out. When we have an answer, we'll let you know."

"Thanks. I'll stay tuned."

After that, she drove away. She got back in today's cold weather when she parked her car in front of a bakery. The bakery, Jones and Brown, was small. Costumers would come in and stay if they pleased.

The bakery had a drive – thru. It was nothing fancy. Daphne had never been through it herself. She waited in line for her turn. She was hungry for a donut and wanted coffee to go along with it. Her turn had arrived. Lucas Jones was behind the counter this morning.

"Good morning, Daphne. What can I give you today?" he asked in a professional tone of voice.

Lucas had the bakery's work clothes. The shirt said 'Jones and Brown Bakery' with a matching apron both were the usual boring white. He wasn't tall for his age, she could tell.

"We heard what happened about last night, Daphne. This pageant started a couple of days ago, didn't it?" he asked, pulling a glazed donut with sprinkles.

He handed her the donut and then headed to pour the coffee.

"I heard about it on the radio myself last night, Lucas. I tried to get more info earlier, but no avail."

"We're curious as much as you are, Daphne. Good luck to you on this case," he told her as she paid $3.75.

"Thanks, Lucas. I'll need it."

"Good day, Daphne," he called as he watched her leave.


	3. Chapter 3

While eating dinner that night with Sam and Michelle, Daphne put the finishing touches of the rest of that night's meal.

"Mom, the entire school has been talking about what happened last night," Sam said.

"Everyone must have heard about it, Sam. They've talked about it when I went into town," Daphne told her son and daughter.

Tonight Daphne did not have to judge like she thought because of the crime scene.

"How come you didn't work today?" Michelle asked.

"The sheriff said to postpone until the crime is solved."

"I can help, Mom. I want to help," Sam offered.

"I don't think that's necessary, Sam."

"You remember how many times I've helped you," Sam pointed out.

Daphne could see there was disappointment in his voice. She didn't blame him.

"Sam, this could be dangerous for you, so this is why the answer is no."

"Drats."

"I know how you feel, Sam, but the sheriff doesn't want you to get hurt."

"I know, Mom."

The next day arrived quickly. Daphne was now asking questions what happened to the contestant. She knew it made sense to help with the police since it would go quickly.

Daphne was talking with a curly redhead. She was wearing clothes to keep you warm during the winter. She had blue socks, black shoes, blue eyes, and a yellow T – shirt. The background looked to be it was a sunset. Daphne thought it was beautiful.

"I like your shirt. I think it's beautiful."

"Thanks, Ms. Blake. I just bought it so it's new. This is my first time wearing it."

"I like it on you. It really fits you," Daphne told her.

"Glad you like it. What do you want me to help with?"

"I heard what happened about one of the contestants last night. It frightened me," Daphne said.

"It frightened everyone, Ms. Blake. The contestant's family is in a state of shock after hearing about it on the news. Like the rest of us, they want to find out who killed her."

"I can help."

"I know. You've been solving crimes for several years."

This woman she'd been talking with looked like she was not married. Daphne guessed she was either divorced or engaged. Still Daphne couldn't tell what the age was. That was one of the things she didn't know what to think.

"Do we know how many family members the contestant's family is?" Daphne queried.

"I'm not sure. I think she said she was the oldest of five or six. She was close to one of her brothers."

"I know what this is like. Where do they live?" Daphne asked.

"She told me she was from Virginia but her family lives out in Florida."

"Are her parents still living?"

"They're retired. They're around sixty or seventy. Her father retired early. He used to be in the retail business."

Daphne found that interesting to hear about a victim's family member in the past she'd had solved a mystery.

"Are there anymore questions you'd like to ask me?" she asked Daphne.

"Yes. May I have a telephone number to contact her parents?"

"I'm afraid I don't know how to answer that, Ms. Blake. I haven't known her very well so we've been friends about five months or so."

"Thanks. If I have anymore questions, look me up in the book," Daphne said.

"Will do," Daphne said as she watched the woman walk away.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day at school, Sam and his friends talked about the murder his mother had been involved with.

"Sam, isn't your mom going to stop being involved with all these crimes? It's a bit violent for us, you know," one of Sam's friends, Todd said.

"True, Todd, but you know how I get."

Todd nodded. Of course Sam enjoyed playing detective on his mother's cases.

"Of course, Sam. I guess that'll never stop you from having a private detective career in the future."

"No, it doesn't. I hope to be one someday. And then I can help Mom out."

"Right now, We're just kids. We're a bit young to play this type of game."

"Not me."

Todd didn't reply. He knew for sure Sam wouldn't listen to him and his mother. He knew Sam's dream was to have a career that involved murder. Todd didn't seem to want a career like that since it was dangerous, even for a police officer. He'd heard from Sam's other friends that Sam watched too many crime dramas and read too many stories. He did think that seemed to be true since Sam wanted a police career so it was no surprise. He just hoped if Sam ever did get involved in this latest crime, he wouldn't get hurt. Of course friends care about one another like him and Sam.


	5. Chapter 5

Daphne drove to the police station early that morning. She was told the sheriff wanted to see her. She decided to go to the station around ten – fifteen. The sheriff wanted her as long as it was in the morning. He wanted to question her. Of course, Daphne had done nothing wrong to make him think it was her who murdered the contestant. She scratched the idea out of her head and decided to wait and see what he had in mind.

She drove her light green Chevy to the station. She turned the XM radio station to hip hop. She liked hip hop, jazz, R &amp; B music the best. She'd heard some rock and roll and country but it never suited her enough to enjoy the music the artists had recorded.

When she arrived at the police station, the parking lot wasn't even full. That surprised her. Whenever the sheriff wanted to question her when a murder appeared, she would notice the station's parking lot was usually half – full.

She parked the Chevy in the parking lot on the right side of next to a white SUV. She never really paid much attention to cars and their license plates, but this one sure looked like it was ready to go to the dump, she thought silently to herself.

Once she walked into the large police station, she saw the receptionist, whose name was Julie, answering a phone call. Julie waved a friendly wave to Lynda. Lynda didn't need any directions to the sheriff's office but knew her way around the police department really well. She'd been here over a thousand times enough to know her way around. She saw one of the deputies as she passed by. Deputy Brown waved to her as she walked past him. He had a mouth full of donut. She did notice he was eating so she could tell he was having his mid – morning snack. It was true police officers liked to eat donuts even if it was a lot of sugar.

Daphne didn't seem to care much for donuts but the children seemed to like them but it wasn't often she bought them for Sam and Michelle. As she neared the sheriff's office, she peeked in Sheriff Edwards' office to see if there was anyone there with him. Turned out it was quiet and nobody was there. He waved her in as he played around with the telephone cord. He'd been in a conversation, so Daphne walked in and sat in one of the chairs that were across from him. He put a finger on his lips, telling her to wait for a while longer. It looked like he was talking to someone on business, Daphne guessed.

Sheriff Edwards had been a friendly type of person that almost everyone liked except when he was in the mood when he arrested people. That was the only time people didn't like him much. He'd been in the department for over fifteen years and had done a good job since joining the force. In the beginning, he was not sheriff. He was an officer going around town writing up tickets for the drivers and citizens. He'd been sheriff for less than seven years. In his seven years on the force, Daphne could tell he had been doing a good job in keeping the town safe during the murder cases going on.

He finally put the phone back in the cradle.

"What do you want to see me for?" Daphne asked.

"About the other night when one of your contestants died."

"Have you figured her name out?" Daphne asked with curiosity.

"The name hasn't been released yet, but we've looked in some background of this young woman," he told her.

"What do we know about her so far?" Daphne asked.

"We know she comes from a small family. It's her and two younger siblings – both girls. I called them before you came in to let the victim's family know about what happened to her. Of course they found it shocking. One of the sisters told me the victim was having a birthday to celebrate within a week or two after the pageant," he remarked.

Daphne didn't say anything, so she kept quiet.

"Are her parents still alive?" Daphne asked.

"Only her father. Mother died three years back of heart failure and cancer."

"Isn't that a shame," Daphne said, feeling sorry for the victim's family.

"Of course it's a shame. We want to look for the murderer who did this sort of thing."

"I don't blame you for not wanting to put anymore people in prison, but it's your job," Daphne told him.

"That's exactly right. Tell your son to stay away from this murder. I don't want him to get into any danger."

"I understand. I'll be sure to tell him tonight at supper. We're going out to eat."

"All right."

She asked if there was anything else she needed to know.

"Not at this time. I've told you everything so far. When we have more information, I'll call you."

"Please do."

She finally got up from the black leather chair, brushing off dust from her pants.

"I guess you'll be leaving now so you could have more quality time to yourself," he told her as he got up from the swivel chair to walk her out of the office.

Daphne thanked him. His office was big enough to hold about five people so his office was medium – sized. His office looked like it hadn't changed since he first became sheriff. She thought quietly to herself as he walked her out of the door the office needed some work but didn't bother mentioning it to him quite yet.

"Do you want me to walk you to your car?" Sheriff Edwards offered.

"Thank you, but I can handle it on my own this time," she said as he watched her out of his office.

"Anytime, Daphne," Sheriff Edwards called after her.


	6. Chapter 6

Later that evening, Daphne was doing finishing touches on dessert. She'd made her and the kids cherry pie from Marie Calendar. After doing the finishing touches, she put the pie on the stove. She hit 'Start' on the stove and put the pie in and slammed the door.

While the pie was doing its job, Daphne went up the stairs to check on Michelle and Sam, who both were studying. Daphne had told them they had to do their own schoolwork without any help unless they needed it. She walked up the creaking stairway. There was a bathroom on the left near her own bedroom, but that bathroom was for Sam and Michelle.

The bathroom looked like any other: glass mirror, a shower, toilet, sink, you name it. She peeked in the bathroom, knowing it was time it needed some scrubbing. Scrubbing the bathroom was Michelle's chore but every week, she would make a chore list for Michelle and Sam. Speaking of chores, it reminded her she should start making up this week's chores. Oh, well. It could wait till tomorrow.

She passed a small guest room that was only two doors on the left from the master bedroom. It was only her, Michelle and Sam living together. Their father walked out on them shortly after Michelle was born, but since then, his name was never mentioned again. The walls on the second floor held a few paintings.

One painting, which had the theme of a desert, looked like it was ready to be pitched. She'd worry about it another time. The walls were on the second floor looked like the paint started to fade and the walls also had a few cracks. Sam's room was right next to the guest room. She saw that his light was still on. It should be bedtime for them in another hour.

She knocked on his door. There was silence. Sam's bedroom looked like a sports/detective type of theme. It was interesting to see a mix of both, she knew. She heard the door creak, telling her he was answering her knock. He opened the door halfway to let her in.

"Hi, Mom."

"I just dropped in to see how far you've gotten in your homework."

"Okay, I guess. I should be done in about five minutes or so."

"All right. What did you have for tonight's work?"

Since Sam was only eleven, he somehow skipped fifth grade. He is the youngest in the entire sixth grade. Sam's sports/crime bedroom looked like it needed to be picked up. She knew for sure kids like to have filthy bedrooms.

That's when the two of them heard the sound of springs coming from a bed. The sound was nowhere in his bedroom. Even Sam's closet door held the theme of a detective. He always had Sherlock Holmes as his favorite crime fictional character. No wonder he always wanted to work on her murders.

"Sam, honey, we need to have a talk," Daphne told him as the springs continued to sound.

"About what, Mom?"

"The murder."

"Did I do anything wrong?"

"No, you didn't, Sam. I was at the police station earlier and the sheriff wanted me to let you know you can't help out on this case. He thinks it's too dangerous."

"Why would it be dangerous, Mom?"

"I know you've helped in the past murders, but the sheriff recommended you to stay out-of-the-way. He somehow thinks his staff would work a lot faster if you didn't help this time."

"Drat," he said.

The bed springs kept getting louder. Michelle loved to think of her bed as a trampoline and jumped on the bed once a week.

"I'm going to tell your sister to get back to her studies. I have pie in the stove, so it should be finished by the time you finish tonight's homework."

"All right, Mom. What are we having? I thought you wanted to talk with me."

"We did, but now the talk is over with."

"Okay," Sam replied, watching as she shut the door behind herself.

Sam thought to himself, _'I don't care what Mom and the police say. I'm going to help solve this case when they like it or not, where to begin?' _That's when he was scratching his chin. He heard Lynda knock on Michelle's door. The bed springs continued with their racket.

He could tell Michelle didn't bother letting Daphne in since she was still on the bed. He could hear through the walls. He heard Daphne tell Michelle a bed is not a trampoline. Like the saying goes, 'Walls have ears.' He heard Daphne's voice asking if her schoolwork was finished.

"Yes, Mom," was her answer as she continued jumping on the bed.

"We're having pie for dessert tonight."

"Yummy!" Michelle exclaimed.

Pie was always her favorite dessert. He shook his head, thinking to himself, _'Sisters. They can be a pain sometimes.' _That's when he heard Daphne close his sister's door. He didn't seem to care her room theme was something to do with princesses. He had somehow always thought sports was more exciting.

He heard the stove going off by making a beeping sound. _'Pie time,' _he thought to himself as he stopped scratching his chin. He decided to finish the last bit of his math homework. And then head on down. Tonight's math assignment was on adding fractions. He'd never really was much of a fan of fractions.

Michelle continued to jump as he started to finish the last four problems. After taking the cherry pie out, the door creaked. Lynda decided to let the cherry pie cool off for a while. While letting it cool off, she went to the fridge to grab some ice cream. That's when she called Michelle and Sam. He heard Michelle finally jump off the bed.

He made it to the kitchen a couple of seconds after Michelle entered.

"Yummy! Cherry pie!" Michelle screamed with excitement.

For some reason tonight, Michelle had a lot of energy. It took the three of them to eat the pie, but there was still some left over for tomorrow night. After finishing tonight's pie, it was now time for him and Michelle to get to hop to bed. They both said good – night to her and once more went up the creaky staircase. Daphne put the dishes in the dishwasher. After slamming the dishwasher, she went to go online.

She wanted to share more of the crime on facebook. After logging in to the site, she never cared for staying up – to – date on the people she had on her friend list. She never somehow had the time for it. She put up the newest status: 'Police have found out a bit of the victim. They had talked with the victim's family. The victim's name is not yet released.' Then she quickly clicked 'Post.' She now logged off. She couldn't believe how fast time had flown by this evening. She suddenly started to get weary, so the machine was shut off. She even turned the lights off and went to change into tonight's nightgown.


	7. Chapter 7

That night, Sam had a dream. He dreamt he was helping out on his mother's murder and he was the one who did most of the work.

_He was in the middle of a study hall in school and had heard the PA system come on. He was well aware of what the PA system was saying. He'd found some clues to this murder his mother was involved in and Sheriff Edwards kept telling him to stay out of the murder scene. He somehow didn't seem to care enough to listen to the sheriff._

_The clue he'd found was bloodstains on the victim's dress. He thought to himself that maybe the victim was involved with a shooting that made her die, but he couldn't seem one hundred percent sure. The PA system was thanking him for helping out on the crime and he was going to be awarded. He somehow didn't think he deserved something like this if the sheriff in this town had told him to stay out. Like any detective novel, the main character was always told to stay off the case when the character actually was the one who would solve the case. He wanted to be that certain character. Maybe later in the future, he'd be on the police force but he'd just have to wait and see when the time arrived._

_He knew if he shared this with the police, the sheriff would yell at him again like he always did when he got involved with a crime. He was in Sheriff Edwards' office a little after nine in the morning that Sunday. Of course Sheriff Edwards really got angry with him and yelled at the top of his lungs. Sam sure didn't want to listen to the sheriff act like this anymore, but did he have a choice? No._

_This somehow would really surprise the sheriff and his crew, all right. I know I'm doing the right thing as usual to help solve the crime, he thought to himself. The PA system had announced there would be an assembly for him once the crime was solved and he would be able to get his award then. He knew for sure Lynda would be happy for him, but of course he would be punished as he usually was. He always got punished once he helped solve a murder case. Lynda usually spanked him and sent him to his bedroom for a month to make him think what he'd done by not listening to Sheriff Edwards. He didn't seem to care if the sheriff and his crew told him to stay out since the murder was dangerous for a child his age. I'm still going to do it, Sam thought to himself. Then he smiled to himself once the bell rang for the day._

_He'd had to show Daphne what he'd found. She would be surprised I was on the case, Sam thought quietly to himself. Once he walked inside the house, he found his mother doing laundry._

_"Mom, I'm home!" Sam yelled at the top of his lungs._

_"Hello, Sam," Daphne returned._

_"Mom, guess what happened today?" Sam said with a smile on his face._

_"What? Did something happen good at school today?" she asked._

_"You bet! The school is going to have an assembly for me once this case is shut down."_

_"What for? You never were around to help out. Sheriff Edwards told you to stay out-of-the-way," Daphne reminded him._

_"Just listen to me, Mom."_

_Daphne couldn't believe her ears to what he had just told her. My son knows he's not the one running the household._

That's when Sam woke up. When he woke up, the clock on his bedroom wall told him it was six – fifteen and he had to get up right away. He did not want to tell his mother about the dream he had quite yet so he'd play safe on keeping quiet about it. He would tell his friend, Todd.


	8. Chapter 8

The next day, Daphne checked facebook to see if she had any comments from her recent post. She didn't bother replying, but instead she read it anyway. She next posted for a new update to say what she was told by Sheriff Edwards. She said in her status: _If anyone is willing, please either e – mail me or message here on facebook who you think the victim is, only if you know her._

Daphne wanted to know more about the contestant's background. Like all the previous murders, Daphne always felt bad for the victim's families, and today was no different. She then signed off after clicking the 'Post' button. While she carefully stood up from the desk chair, she reached out to the kitchen telephone.

Her house was like any other: two – story, two – door garage, kitchen, bathroom, master bedroom, three rooms, two baths, coffee table, chairs, tables, an office, backyard, etc.

Last year she remolded the house so it would look up – to – date. She didn't make any many new changes, though. She only wanted to replace new look for the carpet in the house. Its color started to look boring, so she thought It was time to try something different. This time the carpet was a dark red with some blue in the background.

She added a new shower curtain for all the bathrooms in the house. For her bathroom, she chose a yellow and pink curtain. Like the carpet, she wanted something different. For Michelle and Sam's bathroom, she picked out an orange – red type of color so she wouldn't have to listen to Sam and Michelle about what the color they didn't like was there.

So when she put the curtain in their bathroom, she hadn't had any complaints from her daughter and son and knew they wouldn't complain since they indeed had different tastes in color and fashion. She also changed the beds' look. All the beds in the house had a new bedspread.

Her bedspread used to be ruby red and royal blue, but it wore out fast and needed a change. She'd bought her bed and the kids' bedspreads all at the same time, but the money was worth it – six hundred forty – seven dollars and eighty cents. Now her bedspread had gold and tan. Sam's was dark gray and his new one is old – fashioned black and white. Before, Michelle's was light pink and now it was purple and pink. That was all the changes she'd made on the house and had been stratified with it.

So Daphne tried calling Melanie, her next – door neighbor and see if Melanie had learned anything new about the victim. Melanie was not around when she called, so all she did was leave a message for Melanie to call back.


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, which was Thursday, Daphne dropped off Sam and Michelle at school like she usually did. After dropping them off and parking the car in her driveway, she walked up to the front door and unlocked it. The house had always been peaceful while Sam and Michelle were in school. While putting her keys and purse in their usual spot, Daphne thought she would check the computer and try to look up more info on the victim's death. Somehow she still didn't get on why a young girl would be murdered. She'll figure this one out.

She punched in the television channel that she usually watched for the news. She had luck – they were talking about the murder big – time. She went through it, jotting down notes that looked helpful about the victim.

She did have luck about the victim's family and jotted their phone number and address on the piece of paper she had her notes on. What she was told, the parents were retired, living in a retirement home in Orlando, Florida, sisters both married, each had four children, one sister had four boys and the other one had two girls and two boys. None of them were twins or triplets, she read. The two sisters lived in Houston, Texas and Washington, D. C. Daphne didn't ask Sheriff Edwards yet if this would be the right job for her to do was break the news about the victim's sisters. If she didn't ask him, she'll probably get around to it when she chatted with Melanie and have her ask Dennis, who worked in the same department as Edwards did.

She finally got a call from Melanie twenty minutes later.

"We got your call," Melanie told her after the women said hello.

"I thought you wouldn't, Melanie, but I guess I was wrong. I want to ask you something."

"What's that? If it's about that murder, I'm the wrong person to ask."

"I understand that, Melanie. I just want to ask about the victim that was involved in my show a couple of days ago."

"What do you want to know about her?" Melanie asked.

"Has Dennis ever talked to you about the murder case when he comes home in the evening?" Daphne asked.

"Not really. He usually keeps this to himself and the other officers."

"I just want you to ask him if he will let me do something that they won't have to."

"What's the question?"

"I wanted to ask if it was all right to spread the news about the victim to her sisters."

"I said this before, I'm the wrong person to answer you. I guess I'll give it a shot and let you know."

"Thanks, Melanie. That's what friends are for, right?"

"Right."

Then the conversation ended and the phone once again was in its place.

Daphne saw on the computer that the victim's sisters' names were Maria Wilson and Ruth Fletcher. She saw the descriptions of the two sisters. They looked like they were in their mid – twenties and early thirties, each had a pair of earrings on their ears, (but not two sets in each ear), hair was shoulder length with a ponytail, (Mary, but not Ruth), Ruth wore a newly pair of blue jeans, a shirt that looked like it was for spring, which it had a few dandelions. The shirt was lavender. Daphne thought the shirt looked beautiful, but it wasn't her style. It looked like it was from JCPenney or Ross, but she couldn't be certain.

Mary was younger by four years, so it made her thirty – two and Ruth at twenty – nine. They both had smiles on their faces. The picture looked like it was taken a few years ago. It looked like it was a facebook profile picture, she silently guessed. There was no sign of the children and the husbands, but somehow the two sisters wanted to be alone without their families in the picture. Lynda saw they did not have any contact information, but she thought she'd ask Melanie for that kind of information, even if Melanie never really heard about the cases Deputy Brown worked on. She once again got up from the desk chair and punched in the number. Melanie was still at home, so she took the call.

"Hi, Melanie. Sorry to bug you again, but do you think Dennis has the contact information to the victim's sisters?" Daphne asked.

"I'm sure he does, but I can ask him for you," Melanie said.

"Thank you."

She hoped she wouldn't bug her neighbor anymore today. She herself was busy as well and wanted to see what else would happen on this recent case.

Meanwhile, Melanie was talking to Dennis on the phone since it was his lunch break.

"Dennis, Daphne and I were talking this morning. She wants to know if you had the contact information to the victim's sisters," Melanie said.

"Sheriff has that. I could talk to him for her if you want."

"I told her I was the wrong person to ask, but you know she understands."

"True."


	10. Chapter 10

Daphne was told the next day from Melanie Dennis wasn't in charge of the contact information to the victim's family. This was unusual because this is what she was always told in the past murders. Daphne did think it made sense a woman should be the one to tell other women one on one since it was easier than men telling them.

Daphne went to the station around ten that morning to collect the information on the victim's relatives. Before leaving, she logged into facebook and make a new post about the case. _'Victim's name still hasn't been released. Victim's family will be contacted. If this woman looks like somebody you, leave a comment.' _Then she clicked 'Post.' And then she signed off.

When Daphne arrived at the station that morning, the police squad car was already out on patrol, so it meant either Sheriff Edwards was out with a few of his men or he was still in his office. Daphne took option number two and rolled up all of the windows. Today's weather wasn't so bad after all. Summer was always miserable since there was so much heat.

Today was in the mid – seventies, so there was no need for a jacket. Once she walked into the station, she was told Edwards was in his office. She thanked the secretary and took a couple of rights until she arrived to the office. Edwards' office door was shut, but it told her he didn't want anyone disturbing him.

Before she could knock, she heard the sheriff's voice inside of the door, so it told her he was in the middle of a phone conversation. She gave a noiseless knock to let herself in. She walked in as she quietly closed the wooden door behind her and sat across from him where the was sitting on the desk chair.

She watched as he scribbled some information on a piece of stationery. She never did learn to read upside down, so it was hard for her to make the words out. He put a finger on his mouth, telling Daphne he would be there in a few minutes.

While waiting, she took a look at the desk. Last time she was here, there were so many stacks of paperwork on the desk. Today there was less stacks of paperwork, but somehow Sheriff Edwards managed to take his sweet time working on paperwork while working between crimes.

She watched as the police officer put the phone back in the cradles two minutes later. The conversation she'd just overheard sounded like it didn't have anything to do with this case, she could tell.

"Morning, Daphne. What did you want to see me for?"

"Well, I thought I'd ask you if I could have the contact information to the murdered victim."

"I'm afraid that information can't be given out."

"The reason I would like to have it is because I had this one thought if I could either phone or have eye contract with the victim's sisters. I thought it made sense for the woman to pass the news on."

"I do see your point, Daphne, but the family has already been notified about the crime. They are to have a funeral for her this weekend."

Daphne had always been into trouble before because she always managed to find the contact information with Sam's help. Maybe just this once she'd let her son do the dirty work.

"May I attend the funeral?" Daphne asked.

In the past, Daphne always did attend the victims' funerals with permission from the family. Even if she never knew the victim, it always made a good idea to give them family her respects.

"We'll wait and see."

He promised Daphne he'd call once he found out.

Daphne thanked him while grabbing her purse and gave a friendly wave to the sheriff on her way out. He returned the wave. A couple of minutes later, she was already behind the wheel. Once she parked the vehicle into the garage, she quickly walked into the house. She'll ask Sam if she could have his help. For once it would put a smile on his face.


	11. Chapter 11

The weekend arrived quickly. Daphne talked to Sam the night before about the victims' two older sisters and said that the police wouldn't give out that kind of information to her. She did mention to Sam she wanted to go to the funeral to give the family her respects but Sam told her he would be happy to find out.

"What are the sisters' names, Mom?" he asked.

He knew he'd need this type of information before starting his search for his mother.

"Their names are Mary and Ruth."

"May I have the descriptions?" he asked.

"I have the info on a piece of paper," she said, handing him the three times folded piece of paper.

"Thanks, Mom. I'll get right to it."

Daphne said not a word as she watched her older son finish breakfast in a hurry and left his bowl sitting at his spot at the kitchen table.

"Mommy, may I go next door to play? I was invited the other day from Mrs. Mitchell."

"You go ahead. I'll help your brother with this search of information."

Michelle didn't say a word, so she got out of her wooden chair and put her bowl in the kitchen sink. Daphne was surprised at this type of age her kids never put their dishes in the dishwasher or wash them before putting them in the dishwasher. When will they learn?

Daphne waited to go into the office while Michelle grabbed a couple dolls and zipped her coat on.

"Make sure to come home before lunch."

"Okay, Mommy."

Daphne watched as Michelle held the dolls in her hand and closed the door with the other behind herself. Daphne was surprised how well – behaved her children were when they were invited to a friend's or relative's houses. They sure did know how to behave, but they certainly never put their dishes in the sink when finishing. She wished they would do that more often so she wouldn't have to do everything herself.

After Michelle slammed the door behind herself, Daphne walked back into the kitchen to put the dishes in the dishwasher. She washed the dishes in her spare time and never really rushed the dishes chore so she got the job done.

After Michelle slammed the door behind herself, Daphne walked back into the kitchen to put the dishes in the dishwasher. She washed the dishes in her spare time and never really rushed the dishes chore so she got the job done.

After putting the last of the dishes in the dishwasher and running it, she joined her older son in the office. The office was big enough to have a television set, a couch, bookshelves, and of course, computer on the desk with a printer next to it.

"Any luck yet, Sam?" Daphne asked.

He didn't reply right away to his mother. He was still typing on the keyboard.

She stood over her son's shoulder as she watched him type the description on the machine. She saw he had a few hits but not enough to keep searching.

"Twenty – four results? There has to be more than that," Daphne said when she saw the answer with twenty – four results on the topic.

"I know, Mom, but I'll keep looking for you. I'll let you know when I find something."

"I saw earlier that the parents are in Florida."

"Thanks for telling me, Mom."

Sam didn't mind his mother watching over his shoulder but as he always did, he found it a bit distracting to watch him find the right target of information. He didn't want to tell Daphne she was distracting him by looking over his shoulder while he did research on the crime.

"Am I too distracting for you, Son?" Daphne asked after a couple minutes had passed.

"Maybe a little."

"Do you want me to leave for a while so you can get your work finished faster?" Daphne suggested.

"That would be a better idea, Mom. I'll call when I find something," he said as he turned to give her his best eye contact as she walked out of the office.

Daphne didn't mind having peace like this for once. This usually was never like this on most weekends, but for some reason it was today. When it was quiet, you usually are able to focus on things you've planned to do.

Sam heard his mother walk out of the office and brushed loudly against the wall. It didn't surprise him because his younger sister mostly did that but he hardly never heard his own mother do that sort of thing. He decided to get up from the swivel chair and stretch for a bit. He decided to keep the door open so when he found something he would call Lynda so she could see what he found out about the victim's family.

He saw his mother was right about the victims' parents living in Florida. They lived in Orlando, but they were in a retirement area but they were nearing the age for an assisted living place. He saw the info on the victims' family that the father was in his mid – seventies while the mother was in her late sixties. Both had health problems and the father had diabetes but it did not get serious just as yet, but it would happen one day. The mother was battling cancer but it looked like she was going to die any day now. Sam used a stick pen to write down all this information for his mother. He worked for a bit longer and found lots of information his mother would need to snoop around.

He still could not get a result on the victim's relatives' phone number or address. All he could get was background information like the police officers did on the cop drama shows he often watched. He wanted to be like Sherlock Holmes when he grew up, but again he might change his mind about being a detective, but for right now he was doing a pretty good job at eleven years old on detective work, his family and the police saw. It even surprised him as well. It did sort of help by watching the crime dramas and murder novels to be good on searching information.

At least people could see he had talent on helping out on crimes at his age. Like Daphne, his name would end up in the newspaper so the town would know she did not do the solving half on the crime. It surprised people an eleven – year – old boy was allowed to focus on this kind of thing rather than just schoolwork. Sam thought helping out on cases like this would give him enough practice before he got into a police academy or law school when he went away from home to study for a degree.

He wrote the information he was able to find, but it took him front and back pages of information Daphne needed on the relatives. He signed off the computer, loosely paper in his hand and walked to the living area where Daphne was sitting on the couch with the television on. The program she had on did not involve anything with politics or news. Sam usually wasn't big on politics as yet, but he understood enough from what his mother would be watching or reading in the paper.

"Mom, I've got your information," he said, handing her the loosely paper.

The piece of paper flew on the floor in front of Daphne's shoes. She didn't mind bothering to pick the paper up since it was closer to her than Sam.

"And what did you find?" Daphne asked him.

"Look for yourself, Mom."

She read his neatly handwriting. He hardly made any mistakes while writing, even if both pen and pencil would cause that.

"You got a lot of progress into this," Daphne said with surprise.

"I couldn't find what you wanted, but I thought this information would help."

"I think it's enough to work on for now."

She looked at his notes.

"I already knew about the parents living in Orlando, Sam, but not this type of research you did. I'll work on it."

She skimmed through the notes

"Father is in his seventies, diabetic, mother is in her sixties, battling cancer. Now in assisted living. Victim grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. Victim was involved in the beauty contest that Judge Conway was a part of. Police closed the contest after finding out about the shooting of the victim. Victim's sisters were notified immediately. Father and mother were notified before the sisters. Grandmother lives in Bangor, Maine. Grandmother is a widow to a writer, but grandfather was already retired but now passed away in the past year or two. Mary and Ruth, the older sisters, had jobs in other states. Ruth, the oldest of the family, was an accountant while Mary, the middle child, worked as cashier for Walgreens."

Daphne decided to read more of the research later. She was into a soap television show so she would go through when the program was over.

"Thank you for the research, Sam. It's very helpful," she complimented him.

"No problem, Mom."

Then he walked away from the living room and headed up the stairs to finish a murder novel he was halfway in. It was an Alex Cross novel from James Patterson. It was 'Roses were Red' and he wanted to find out what happened to Alex next. He was into chapter ninety – something and he wanted to see if he could solve the case before Alex did. Once picking up the book from his bookshelf and taking the bookmark out, he stretched out on the carpet. He saw the book had to be due back in the library in the next two days or so, but he was getting near to finish before due date. He was lost in the novel and never heard his mother flipping channels, holding his research in her hand to skim through during commercials.

Something had been distracting him when he tried to finish the novel he was reading. He had a thought and put a bookmark back in its spot. He then walked down the stairs. Daphne was nowhere to be seen. He guessed she was in the office, so he went to see if he was right. It turned out he was, but he knocked on the closed door.

"Come in," Daphne called.

He peeked his head in.

"Mom, mind if I use this for a while? I want to do more research on your murder."

"In a minute."

She thought leaving the Internet on would be helpful for her son, so she signed out of her e – mail account.

"There you go."

"Thanks, Mom."

He watched as Daphne walked out of the office and closed the door.

Once she shut the door behind her, Sam sat in the swivel chair and clicked on Google's website. This usually helped him since he liked looking things up on Google and not Yahoo. He saw the notes he had left on the office desk after Lynda had skimmed through it. He got out a fresh piece of loosely paper and used the pen that Lynda had left. He saw his mother had left a note for him, telling him Mary was living in Houston, Texas and Ruth in Washington, D. C.

He punched in their name and got a few results. He thought he'd work on Mary for a while.

He got a few hits on Mary in Houston. He clicked the one he thought was the victim's sister. He found a lot of information: Mary lived in Houston, worked in a jewelry store, divorced a few years back, which was the year of 2006 and had not remarried but she had dated a few times in the past couple of years. Mary had one daughter and one son but none of them were his and Michelle's ages. The son looked like he was about two years old and the daughter looked like she was fifteen months old, so she was still an infant.

Mary herself lived in a condo not too far away from Albertsons. He found this research intriguing, but he wrote every piece of information down so his mother would read it once he handed it to her. Mary's late husband, Taylor, was a businessman for a law firm. The son, whose name was Phil, looked like a mix of Mary and Taylor. He was wearing a light – blue Batman and Robin T – shirt that had shown a couple of missing buttons, and there were a few stains of carrots for babies. Phil looked like he hadn't yet starting to grow teeth but he was cute – looking. He had his thumb in his mouth. The daughter looked like she was starting to wean off the bottle.

The daughter's name was Barbara. He jotted every bit of this information of Mary down for his mother and see if this was the right Mary and Ruth but he would get his answer soon enough. He thought this was enough details to Mary for now. He hoped the police would find this useful but they were the only ones know who was the right Mary and Ruth. He next went to look on the details for Ruth. He punched in Ruth's name and came with seven results. Not much research for him.

Ruth lived near Washington, D. C. She was retired, graying hair, light – blue eyes. Her clothing did not mean any description at all for him so he passed that bit enough to skim it. He'd go back later to the clothing description later but now he wanted the background. Ruth lived in an apartment building. The landlord was getting ready to retire, but she happened to have one child who was in middle school.

The child's name was Laurie. Laurie was in the seventh grade, braces, curly hair with a bow or two in it, was becoming to be an honor student. She and Ruth had no pets since the apartment building they lived in had required no animals like most apartment buildings did. Ruth's late husband, Roger, had passed away about eleven years ago since Ruth had to raise Laurie all by herself. Must be hard being a parent to raise a child on your own after the spouses divorced or were deceased, Sam thought to himself. He didn't want to be like that once he was married and had his own children but sometimes you don't have any choice.

Ruth drove a dark brown vehicle but it was starting to age, he could tell in the pictures. He decided to save the pictures of the vehicle to his mother or he could just grab the camera out and take a picture of it on his own but he knew there was not much time left for the police to close up the case. He somehow was curious how he could track down the name of the victim and her murderer before the police could. He usually did that and the police were somehow surprised he found all this information without their knowing about it first.

He also found out about Ruth having several relationships to lots of men before she married and had her son and daughter but every relationship she was in always failed. Sam thought to himself that he didn't want to be like Ruth to have always been in relationships that never worked. He jotted that info down for his mother. Ruth's relationship with one kid back in her college years was a Russian exchange student, taking English in America and Ruth did not understand him and they broke up before the prom happened that year. That year when she was in a relationship with the Russian, the boy had asked her in Russian if she would like to go to the prom with him and she didn't answer since she didn't know how to answer back in his language. He did not speak or write English very well, so this was why he was sent to America to learn to write and read English better since a lot of Russians in his country spoke and wrote English better than he did. Some of the people in his country had spoken fluent English.

Ruth was in underclass when she was asked to go to the prom and she turned down the invite to go. He happened to be a junior and she was just starting her high school years. After jotting this information down, he grabbed the camera out from one of the desk drawers. He logged off that website and took a picture of the vehicle she was driving and see if this information helped with the crime to shut it down. Daphne heard a click of the camera and wondered what made Sam take a picture from the Internet.

She walked in to find out why she heard the click from the camera her family had kept for several years.

"I thought I heard the click of the camera go off."

"You did, Mom. I was taking pictures of the crime."

She did not answer her son and decided to return to the living room. She thought she'd try to finish a project she was sewing. It had remained unfinished for almost nine months and wanted to try to finish it before Christmas. She was making a new blanket for Michelle's bed. She usually made the bed sheets and bedspreads instead of buying them at the store. She mostly bought the pillows since she had never learned to make one on her own just yet. She watched as Sam left with the camera. She wondered what he wanted to use the camera to take a picture online, but she'd find out sooner or later.


	12. Chapter 12

The next day, which was Thursday, Daphne studied her son's notes he'd jotted down. He left some question marks. Daphne continued to study the notes and pictures to see if he had everything correct. She wanted to share this information with Dennis tomorrow. She hoped Sam was wrong but she'll find out.

While skimming through the notes, she saw a lot of information didn't seem right to her, so she thought she'd check and see if Sheriff Edwards think if her son was correct with the details he found just last night. She saw lots of information on Ruth and Mary seemed incorrect. She'll tell him later after school. She knew he did spend a lot of time the night before researching the stuff she wanted to find out.

She studied the picture for many times that day. She'd shared some of his information on her facebook page.

She shared the picture first, then circled some of the information what to share.

She posted:

_'If anyone recognizes this vehicle, let a comment.'_

That's when she clicked the 'Post' button.

She wanted to share Ruth's background first and thought it made sense and see what the public thought of these updates.

Next she posted:

_'Is it really true Ruth drove an out of dated vehicle and dated an Russian exchange student in high school? Did she really live in Houston, Texas with two children instead of four? Did the Russian actually speak fluent English? What was the Russian's name?'_

She next clicked 'Post.' She thought this made some detail to share to the public but she didn't want to give out too much of it all at once. She hoped the public would give some answers to her questions. That's when she called the Mitchell residence, even if they lived right next – door to one another. She wasn't exactly one hundred percent if Melanie was home or not. To her luck, she had Dennis. Dennis was having lunch early that day, so he took her call.

"Hi, Dennis. I have some questions to ask about the crime."

"What's that?" he asked as she heard him wipe his mouth.

"Well, I found some information on Ruth and Mary, but I'm not sure if it sounds correct."

"Come over and share it. I don't want this to be on the telephone."

She hung up. Whenever she talked with Dennis, he always wanted the information to be in person since sometimes people listened to the conversation when you don't expect them to.

She took the picture and the notes Sam had taken just last night. She gave a sigh as she knocked on the door. Melanie was out grocery shopping, so she wasn't home to hear all the information Sam found. Dennis let her in.

"I hope that child of yours didn't work on the case," Dennis said.

"Well, actually, he did some of it. He only looked up the background of Mary and Ruth."

"We thought you were told Sam wasn't supposed to goof up this case."

"We were. Somehow he wanted to get some credit."

She handed him the picture of the vehicle and the pieces of paper Sam had written the night before.

"I wanted to make sure this information was correct, but it didn't seem like it to me when I looked at it."

"A Russian exchange student who spoke fluent English and dated an American? What? How did he come up with that bit?" Dennis said, laughing.

He wanted Edwards and the other guys at the station to see this.

"He found it on the Internet."

Dennis was still laughing but he started to choke.

He didn't stop laughing at all when Melanie came in twenty minutes later. She saw laughter on her husband's face.

"Hello, Daphne. What is he laughing about?" Melanie asked.

"The information Sam wrote down last night about the crime."

"Let me see that," she said as Dennis choked a bit harder.

"A brown vehicle out of date and dating a exchange student from Russia who spoke fluent English?" she asked.

Daphne saw her friend was laughing like her husband was. She somehow had the feeling Dennis was going to burst.

"I'll have to share this with the other guys," Dennis said once he stopped laughing.

Melanie now stopped laughing and he took the information and picture out of his wife's hands. Daphne didn't know how to share this with Sam, but she'll think of something. By now Dennis got up, evidence in his hands.

"I'll see you two ladies later," he said, putting his jacket on.

"See you," Daphne and Melanie returned.


	13. Chapter 13

The next morning, Daphne told Sam at breakfast Dennis laughed about the notes he'd written down for her.

"Why is that so funny?" Sam asked.

"I don't get it myself either, but somehow he seems to think it's hilarious."

Once Michelle and Sam were on their way to school, Daphne decided now was the perfect time to solve this mysterious murder, so she drove into town at eight – fifteen and talk with Sheriff Edwards. He was in and wanted to see her.

So she walked into his office and found him putting his jacket on the jacket rack. He had been here shortly so he was putting the jacket away before sitting behind the desk for today.

"I think I might have an idea who the murderer is. I'm sure Dennis told you about Sam's notes."

"That's right. He showed them to me. I just don't see how the Russian exchange student could be connected."

"He isn't. I think Sam had found some of the information correct but when I looked over the notes it didn't sound correct to me from what I've learned from you."

"Tell me your theory."

"I think it was Ruth and Mary who planned out this murder to their younger sister. Like Mary would be at the show I judged and when everyone left, Mary would barge into her sister's room with a gun and then when I arrived home and heard the news, her sister was already shot."

"That's one way at looking at it. Where does Ruth come in?"

"I think Ruth was the one who owned the gun and let Mary borrow it. I happen to think she and Ruth were jealous that their younger sister was going to be a contestant in such a show like this."

"I think I see your connections. So when Sam looked up the backgrounds of Mary and Ruth for you, maybe Ruth and Mary would change things around by posting their information about them online and where their locations in Texas and Washington. Maybe that's why your son saw this information. Maybe the Russian exchange student had nothing to be involved in a crime like this."

"That's what I thought. Since the pageant I was judging meant to be for teenagers only. Somehow Mary and Ruth got into their jealousy feelings and decided to do the killings."

"I like the way you think, Lynda. I'll want Dennis and the other guys to look this information up about Ruth owning the weapon. I'd love to have those two women in my jail."

"Maybe you will," she listened as he called his fellow officers and tell them to get cracking on this bit of information Lynda had just given out to share.

"They're working on it," Edwards said when he put the phone back.

"Good. I'd love to see what they come up with."

"I'd go home if I were you now and we'll call you once we find something."

"All right."

Then she left the office as she waved to Edwards on her way out. He waved back, logging on the computer with a password. While driving home, Lynda kept guessing the name of the youngest sister of Mary and Ruth. She came up with: Eloise, Andrea, Irene, Olivia, Beatrice, Lindsay, Carla, you name it but somehow not one of them sounded right to her. When she drove into the driveway a few minutes later, she locked the car and walked into the quiet house.

She logged into facebook and shared her thoughts that would end the murder.

_'Could Mary and Ruth be jealous and wanted to shoot their younger sister so they could be in my pageant show? The Russian exchange student really wasn't involved so he is not a native in the States, but when he lived in the States for a short time, he would speak his native tongue only. He didn't want his classmates to know he used fluent English. Here's something for you all to think about: Ruth owned the weapon and let Mary use it to shoot their sister.'_

Then she hit 'Post.' She hoped the public would put her theory into mind. After she hit the 'Post' button on facebook, the telephone rang. It was the school principal, telling her Sam wasn't paying close enough attention to what his teacher was talking about.

"He's concentrating on that murder you're involved in."

Daphne knew how her son's brain worked. When there was a case in progress, he'd talk about the case during school and not concentrate on his grades. In the last case, he fell behind since he was so into the case and wanted to see how it was going to end.

"What kind of things has he been saying about the case?" Daphne asked.

"He was saying something about a Russian exchange student who was here several years ago and was trying to connect the Russian exchange student to the crime."

"I found out the exchange student wasn't involved in this crime at all. Tell him to focus on his schoolwork more."

"We've tried. It didn't work."

That's when Lynda hung up the phone. After hanging the phone up, the phone rang a second time. This time it was Sheriff Edwards.

"That was fast work."

"We think you were right. We looked up the weapon the two girls had to kill your contestant. We saw it was a Smith and Wesson. Looked new but it was loaded."

"Wow."

"I've already located the Texas and Washington sheriff's offices and they would get in contact with Ruth and Mary right away and send them here so they could serve their sentence."

"I think you're doing the right thing. While you did that, I was trying to come up with a name or two that was murdered."

"Any luck?"

"None."

"We think we may have thought of one too."

"Tell me."

"We think her name was Edwina. We looked up the records. It turned out her name was Edwina."

"Wow. I came up with Eloise, Beatrice, Carla, Andrea and a few others but none of them didn't sound right."

"I think this case is now closed."

That's when she put the phone down again. Just shortly after three days, Ruth and Mary flew to Las Vegas, gun and all. Sheriff Edwards had told them to bring the weapon in with them. And they did. They were told they were under arrest for first degree murder. Mary and Ruth couldn't believe this. Like some people, they didn't have a lawyer and refused to hire one. Sheriff Edwards sent Dennis down to lock them both up.

"You two will be here for a long time," Dennis told them after locking them into the cell.

So, the crime was all over the newspapers and television. Once Mary and Ruth were in prison for thirty years without parole, Daphne was able to have her show back. This time the show was without Edwina. Edwina didn't have a replacement. Daphne did like what Edwina had worn before she was shot, but instead Daphne gave a fourteen – year – old girl in a bathing suit and slackers that had the Hawaiian look the trophy. The girl went home happy.


End file.
